Fewer and fewer children are reading for pleasure, in large part because the education system has failed them, but also in no small part because a TV celebrity riding on a ghostwriter’s skills and a jovial TV persona will never match the magic of a JK Rowling or an Enid Blyton, that wrote for children, not for fame and fortune.

I love Christmas. Not the religious festival of the prophet Jesus that the Christians celebrate. Nor the commercial Christmas of greed, gluttony and guzzling that western adults partake of. But the children’s Christmas of Santa and flying reindeer, Christmas trees and twinkling lights, and the joy of opening presents on Christmas Day that have been gifted to children by family and friends (and by Santa, of course).

Because when we give to children – and this epitomises the pure magic of the Santa story – we give without expecting anything in return but smiles and laughter.

That said, our choice of gifts for children can bring other rewards – not least when we give books.

Morocco’s 2nd Casablanca International Children’s Book Fair

At which point you will be wondering why on earth the TNPS Christmas message is bringing up an obscure Arab Muslim book fair that no-one cares about.

But of course, the very reason TNPS was launched, way back in the publishing pre-history that is 2017, was to shine a light on the wonderful world of publishing in the many countries no-one cares about. No-one in the traditional western publishing bubble, that is.

And (it’s Christmas, so forgive the indulgence) it’s gratifying to look back over those seven years and see how western publishing has – and I think TNPS can take at least a little credit for this – come to embrace and even be excited by many of these once-ignored global publishing arenas.

Of course, none of these Arab publishing events are about Christmas, even when, as with the Casablanca children’s fair, it only concluded on December 22nd. But it is here that I’ve chosen to make the focal point of this year’s TNPS thought for Christmas. Here’s why:

Fostering Creativity, Literacy, and Collaboration

The second International Children and Youth Book Fair in Casablanca concluded this week, attracting over 101,000 visitors (up from 80,000 last year) and 340 exhibitors from 29 countries. Held at Anfa Park from December 14 to 22, the event aimed not just to gather book enthusiasts, but also to foster creativity, literacy, and collaboration among young Moroccans, per the official commentary.

Wishy-Washy Platitudes

I know these wishy-washy platitudes are easy to throw about, but these are sentiments worth a second thought as we in the mature western markets settle in for our annual round of excess and sef-indulgence.

Fostering creativity, literacy and collaboration is a theme, if not perhaps in those exact words, that recurs again and again in the top-level Arab markets, and we would all do well to take a step back and compare our own measures of success in our rights-obsessed book fairs and the celebrity-obsessed festivals, where we routinely pay lip-service to the interests of the authors and other creatives, but ultimately measure success only by the ker-ching of the cash register.

Just Another Working Day for Most of the World

I know former International Publishers Association – IPA president Bodour Al Qasimi and the team at Sharjah Book Authority | هيئة الشارقة للكتاب, and at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and the Saudi Authority for Literature, Language and Translation, all of whom/which have done so much to transform the Arab literary landscape, will be busy as usual while we in the west count our sales numbers – oops, sorry, blessings – and make excuses for ever decreasing levels of kids reading for pleasure.

Not that ever decreasing levels of kids reading for pleasure is the industry’s fault – blame the education system.

The Casablanca International Children and Youth Book Fair, like its Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Saudi counterparts, understands that the publishing industry is part of a bigger socially-orientated push for the minds of the next generation, and because of this, Arab book fairs and festivals tend to embrace activities way beyond what we might find at a children’s book event in the west.

Developing Talent in Literature and Art

A major focus of the Casablanca event was to nurture literary passion in Morocco’s children and youth. 70 workshops and professional training sessions were held for aspiring authors, illustrators, and designers, supporting the development of a burgeoning Moroccan literary scene. Participants explored careers in writing, visual storytelling, and artistic production, preparing them to contribute to a growing industry.

Immersive Cultural Experiences

But the fair also featured the “Words of Arts” program across seven spaces, offering over 405 activities spanning creative writing, theatre, photography, ceramics, design, and live arts. More than 20,000 children visited an exhibit celebrating the work of Belgian artist Peyo, creator of The Smurfs, engaging directly with his legacy of storytelling and illustration. The guest of honour at the event this year was Wallonia-Brussels, which explains the Smurfs, but also reminds us how this Arab literary event reached out beyond the usual-suspect Arab markets in choosing its guest of honour.

The Arab publishing industry knows that its future lays in nurturing its children, not treating them as a means to syphon money from their parents for the latest ghostwritten celebrity bestseller.

Step Outside The $$$ Bubble

And as we see with the numbers, the demand is there, if only we in the west would step outside our $$$ bubble. The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival earlier this year drew a crowd of 157,000. In most Arab book fairs, participation by children is a central feature.

Meanwhile in the so-called “mature markets”, it is only in libraries and bookstores that children and books come together outside school. Yes individual publishers that specialise in children’s and educational books make some effort, but for too long western publishing has rested on its laurels when it comes to children’s publishing, happy to let schools do the heavy lifting and celebrities do the heavy selling.

But the model self-evidently is not working. Fewer and fewer children are reading for pleasure, in large part because the education system has failed them, but also in no small part because a TV celebrity riding on a ghostwriter’s skills and a jovial TV persona will never match the magic of a JK Rowling or an Enid Blyton, that wrote for children, not for fame and fortune.

Merry Christmas.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsletter.